Modern geography is very different from the geography that most of us experienced in school. It is not about facts and descriptions. It is about planning, problem-solving, and decision-making in a complex world. Geography’s umbrella is large, allowing geographers to pursue widely varying research. These days that includes a lot of social activism and other work that might seem closer to sociology than geography, but much geographic research remains spatial and substantive.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Students
will be visiting with scholars at the Council for Foreign Relations,
checking their family history on Ellis Island, visiting the Statue of
Liberty, holding a discussion at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, seeing
the internationally recognized Islamic Exhibit at the Metropolitan
Museum, St. John the Divine, the Intrepid, the Apollo Theatre and the
Harlem Renaissance, Central Park and the John Lennon Memorial.

Research
on each site has been done in advance, and students will be making
short, informational presentations to the entire group at the site and a
reflection on the visits as part of the "final exam."

Global
Issues and Human Geography, with Professors Terry Sherer and Chad
Dewaard, have joined forces in looking at the United Nations' Millenium
Goals as they take off for the United Nations in New York City! The
U.N. Millenium Goals have an expansive but straightforward purpose: to
improve the lives of extremely poor people around the world.

“I
can’t wait to travel to New York,” says Sara Allen, freshman elementary
education major from Rock Island, Ill. My father is working in Iraq,
so I’m anxious to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Musuem and learn more
about the impact it has had on current world affairs.”

Jordan
Thompson, sophomore elementary education major from Clarence, Mo
(population 800) says, “I’m really waking up to the world and New York
City--I’ve never dreamed of visiting, much less studying there.”

Students
will be reporting on the "news" each day, incorporating the five themes
of geography, looking at the foreign policy ramifications,
investigating the progress toward the Millenium Goals of each of the
seven continents as we move toward 2015, and engaging in
thought/discussion about how they, as citizens, "make a difference"
locally while thinking globally.

Reading
and research in these classes focus on the National Council of Social
Studies Standards as they are integrated in the development of
experiential class work. Standards focus on culture,
people/places/environments/individuals/groups/institutions, global connections, and civic ideals and practices.